Spots of Another Color
by Richelieu
Summary: Ginny is an Animagus, Draco finds her
1. Chapter 1

'This is way too easy,' thought Ginny as she slipped out of the castle. She had passed all of her O.W.L.S. and N.E.W.T.S. during her fourth year at Hogwarts. As a reward, Professor Dumbledore had advanced her a year so that she was now in the same grade as The Golden Trio, whom she thought were prats. They thought they were above the rules and that everyone liked them. Well, not everyone. At least Draco Malfoy and the rest of the Slytherins agreed with her. They just didn't know that Ginny agreed with them. Draco also didn't know that Ginny may have had the slightest of crushes on him the year before. During Ginny's 5th year, she had become a registered Animagus. The youngest Animagus ever apparently, but Ginny didn't want anyone else knowing. It just simply wasn't any of their business. As a reward, Dumbledore had repealed the rule saying that any animals besides owls, cats, rats, and frogs weren't allowed at the school. Now Ginny could roam at will in her animal form. Dumbledore also gave her permission to be out past curfew. After all, she had a lot of free time now that she had finished every one of her required classes. She even beat Hermione. Hermione got jealous very easily.

Ginny slipped into the castle shadows and transformed. She enjoyed the sense if freedom her Animagus form gave her. She headed toward the forest and slipped past the tree line. She didn't get too far though before something sharp snapped on her paw, causing her to cry out as she slowly lost consciousness.

Draco Malfoy gazed up at the stars. Whenever her couldn't stand the sycophants inside, he would hide out near the forest and just look at the sky. Usually he would sit there for an hour or two before going inside. Tonight, though, something important was going to happen. He just had this feeling. So he sat there for an additional hour and was growing weary, when he saw something slip out from the shadows of the castle and slink gracefully into the forest. After a moment of indecision, he decided to follow whatever it was with his wand drawn and ready. He slowly followed until he heard a yelpimmediately ahead of him. What he saw made him freeze. 'Holy shit, is that a snow leopard? I bet this is what made that noise.' He looked at the unconscious animal's paw caught in the machine. 'I can't blast the thing off of him. Might take part of him with it. Guess I'll have to do this the old fashioned way.' Slowly he pried apart the jaws of the trap and freed the beast. He took off his shirt and ripped it so he could wrap it around the bleeding paw. He stood up and whispered, "wingardium leviosa." The leopard was lifted in the air,and Draco walked towards the castle. When he got to the Great Hall doors, he put down the leopard, placed a concealing spell on it and walked towards the Slytherin Common Room. When he got to his private room, he set the cat down on his bed and started to heal the beast. When he was done, he pointed his wand at the leopard and whispered, "Enervate."


	2. Chapter 2

**Reviews are definitely appreciated**

* * *

><p>Slowly Ginny woke up and her paw to be somehow healed. Then she took in her surroundings. She was in a darkish room laying on a king sized bed covered with deep emerald green silk sheets. 'This mattress is so soft! ...Wait, emerald green? Holy, I'm in a Slytherin room. Uh oh.' Ginny stood up carefully and was about to transform back to her human self when she saw pale blonde hair and grey eyes peering at her from a short distance. She got into attack position and snarled. Questions ran through her head at a mile a minute. 'Why has he brought me here? Is he going to finish me off? Wait... he doesn't know who I am. Wait, does he? He can't possibly know. Oh man, he's coming closer.' She bared her fangs at him silently, warning him. He stepped forward cautiously. "Hey now, kitty. You don't want to hurt me. See? I'm not going to hurt you; I have nothing in my hands." Draco held up his hands peacefully and took another step or two forward towards her. "I even healed your paw." Ginny slowly lay back down on the bed. She was suspicious of Draco, but she trusted him...slightly. Her tail twitched back and forth when Draco got close enough to run his fingers lightly through her fur. It felt so good, maybe she should stick around for a while.<p>

"Good boy," muttered Draco. She growled at him.

"Sorry. Good girl?" She purred in amusement and rolled onto her back so he could rub her tummy. Soon she fell asleep.

Draco couldn't believe it. He didn't know why he had decided to help the poor beast in the first place. But then after he had woken it up, he had expected to be promptly killed. His next surprise came when the cat actually let him pet it, then found out "he" was a "she". And now it was asleep on his bed. He still had plenty of room to lie down and sleep, but said beastie could probably kill with one swipe of its claws. Should he take the risk? Why not? After all, the cat had already shown so far that it wouldn't kill him. The cat was intelligent, you could tell from the way its eyes observed everything and took it into account. He almost wanted to keep it as a pet, but he felt that was a little demeaning to something so intelligent. Companion perhaps? So Draco lay down and continued to stroke the cat's fur, and let its soft purring lull him to sleep.

The next morning, he woke up to a warm heat resting in his chest. 'Holy shit, this thing is bigger than I expected! And really kind of heavy too.' when he tried to shift, he found a pair of green eyes watching him curiously. The cat stretched and yawned and went to start scratching at the door. "Alright! I'm up," he grumbled. "What shall I call you, kitty? Hmm? How about I call you Fang?" she growled at him. "Fine, fine! How about Snow?" she purred in approval. "Alright, Snow it is then. Let me get dressed and then we can go get some breakfast." she watched him get changed and thought, 'Oh my gosh, he sure is fit isn't he?' "I wonder if we'll see the Weasley girl today. Despite what most people think, I don't hate her. In fact, I kind of like her." he threw on his cloak and beckoned her. She walked beside him as they walked up the stairs towards the Great Hall for breakfast.

Draco entered the room and walked to the Slytherin table. Snow padded silently along, but only Draco noticed the stares on him and snow. He rolled his eyes, 'I wonder what the gossip will be today. No doubt about how a giant fucking snow leopard is following me around. I wonder where the Weasley girl is? She's usually here already. And of course, here comes the Golden Trio. The ones who can do no wrong and are always correct! Ha! If only people saw what I see. Being a prefect has its benefits.' Harry, Ron, and Hermione strolled up to the Gryffindor table and started looking around. "WHERE'S GINNY?" blurted Ron.

'What a dumbass,' thought Snow, 'usually he doesn't notice me when I am there.' she twitched her tail back and forth as she grew more and more irritated. Draco threw her some bacon, ham, steak and various fruits like mangos and strawberries. 'Yes I am an omnivore leopard people, get over it.' Dumbledore beckoned her over. As she passed along the tables, she could see people tense as if expecting her to attack suddenly. 'Ha! Like they'd be able to stop me if I did. I'm too fast for them. They can't touch this.' she chuckled as she thought of the song. She climbed the steps and sat next to the headmaster and Professor McGonagall. "This is her?" she heard professor McGonagall ask. "Yes Minerva. This beautiful animal is in fact Ginny Weasley." they spoke in a hushed tone, so no one else could possibly hear their conversation. Ginny tensed when she saw her idiot brother and the other two stalk over to the Slytherin table and confront Malfoy. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH MY SISTER?" roared Ron. He had his wand out and had it pointed straight at Draco's face. Hermione was trying to talk him down, but was having trouble seeing as Harry was doing the same as Ron. "I haven't done anything to your precious sister." replied Malfoy cooly. "Have you tried actually looking for her instead of jumping to conclusions? Sometimes that helps," Draco easily snarked back. He wasn't afraid of Ron Weasley. The idea was laughable. "_Stup-_" started Ron. He never finished the spell though, because the second he started to cast it, Ginny had gone from one end of the hall up onto the Slytherin table facing the trio, snarled and was ready to attack. "holy mother of god Ron put down your wand!" whispered Hermione. She started to back away from the table with Harry. While Harry may be stubborn, he still knew how much damage this beast could cause. He had been to the zoo again, but stayed away from the reptile house, choosing instead to study the big cats. "No! This cat can't stop me. I have a wand, if it attacks I'll just use - wait what's that one spell again? Oh yeah! Protego." he closed his eyes and looked proud of himself for a split second before he was tackled to the ground. His elbows and knees got pinned to the ground and he opened his eyes to the roar that Snow let out in front of his face.

"Stop this fight at once." Dumbledore boomed. Ginny looked at him and ceased what she was doing. Suddenly she felt a sharp sting in her side. She looked down and spotted three long gashes bleeding profusely. She slowly made her way to the room by the professors table, the trophy room. The door closed behind her and she lost her balance, falling down all those stairs before painfully passing out.


	3. Chapter 3

**Review please! I love**** feedback.**

* * *

><p>DPOV<br>I found myself filled with a white hot rage as I pointed my wand at Weasley and muttered, "_Levicorpus_". When I was satisfied that he was dangling high in the air, I ran towards the trophy room. My path was blocked however when Professor Snape stood in front of the door. "We will handle this Mr. Malfoy. Go back to your Room." There was no way I could disobey the order. I started to walk back out of the room when I heard, "She shifted back to her human form, and the bruises are already starting to fade, but the cuts...they won't heal fully for a while. She won't be able to do anything too strenuous. I hope the Weasley boy will be punished accordingly?" asked Snape.  
>"He will be," replied Dumbledore.<p>

Draco just kept getting surprises. Apparently, Snow was a person. A real girl who also happened to be a student at Hogwarts. He had a hunch of who Snow really was, but he couldn't be sure. Draco slipped into the shadows to hear more of the conversation.  
>"Albus, will she be able to play? You know how much she loves Quidditch," Professor McGonagall cut in.<br>_'Okay. Maybe this won't be as hard as I originally thought. A girl that is on a Quidditch team that isn't Slytherin and that wasn't at breakfast. I wonder who that could be.'_ A certain redhead immediately sprang to mind.  
>"She will be able to play, but she will need to bind her side." says Dumbledore. Draco silently slipped back to his Prefect Quarters and decided that he would look for the redhead tomorrow.<p>

The next morning was the first Defense against the Dark Arts class. Even though it had been a week since the fall term had started, Draco hadn't had very many classes. He was a prefect for a reason. His grades were exemplary. DADT wasn't until noon and as it was his first class of the day, he woke up slowly around ten. He showered, got dressed, and strolled down to the kitchens. Contrary to popular belief, he did not hate house elves. Dobby had been very nice to Draco, and so Draco treated Dobby with respect. He entered the kitchens and was met with an unexpected sight. There, sitting on a barstool, was Ginny Weasley.

Draco quickly covered his shock to look at the girl more closely. She seemed to be supporting her weight on her left elbow. "What are you doing here, Draco?" she asked tiredly. "Just came to get breakfast. I have DADT at noon." he replied cautiously, "Where were you at breakfast yesterday? I didn't see you and your brother kind of started yelling at me. He thought I had something to do with your disappearance." Ginny stiffened visibly, before she slowly relaxed. "I went out for a walk early before Ron was up." she said slowly. _'Sure. I'm onto you, Weasley,'_ he thought with a smug grin. "Oh hey, Ginny. I heard that you're now a sixth year just like me and golden boy Potter." Ginny scowled. "Something the matter?" he asked curiously. "No, nothing." she muttered.  
>"Come on, Weasley. Tell me."<br>"Fine. I don't like the trio, okay? Ron is a prick and a douchebag and a prat all rolled together. Hermione thinks she know everything even though both you and I got higher score in the OWLS and NEWTS than she did. And Harry thinks I'm obsessed with him, which I'm not. I don't like Harry Potter at all. Happy?"  
>"Extremely," he smiled, "See you in DADT, Ginny." he laughed at her shocked face. "What? Didn't you hear? DADT is doubleblock Gryffindors and Slytherins. I'll save you a seat." He winked and strolled from the room.<p>

GPOV  
>I watched him leave the kitchens before saying goodbye to Dobby and filling Draco at my own leisurely pace. When I finally reached the classroom, I noticed that every seat but four had been filled already. <em>'Sigh, the Trio must be out again.'<em> True to his word, Draco had saved me a seat. I sat next to him and got out my parchment. I had just gotten out my quill when the Golden three walked in. "Ginny! What are you doing with Malfoy?" shouted Ron. _'So much for subtlety.'_ She was still mad at Ron for what he did to her and had attempted to do to Draco. "I thought it was kind of obvious, Ronald. I'm sitting next to him." A few Slytherins snickered at this. Harry came over and grabbed her hand, "Come sit with us, Ginny."  
><em>'Oh joy. He actually thinks he's being charming.'<em> He was pulling hard in my hand now and I had to use all of my weight to try to pull away. "I don't want to!"  
>"Ginny! Stop being so difficult. Just come sit with us. We all know you want to sit right next to Harry." This time apparently Hermione had decided to take stupid pills. Suddenly Harry stopped yanking her arm out of its socket. Ginny looked up to see a wand poking Harry in the throat. The room seemed to darken except for a beam of light from a nearby window that engulfed Draco's head and made his hair glow. In that moment, he looked like some perfect fallen angel. He was defending her honor. He spoke in a sneer to Potter. "Get your grubby peasant hands off of her before I hex you so hard you'll never leave St. Mungo's." Harry immediately let go of Ginny who instantly hid behind her angel. She wrapped her hands around his waist and chest and peered slightly over his shoulder at the golden three. Draco growled lowly in approval and the trio backed away shocked to their respective desks. Draco led Ginny back to their own desks and sent out a message using the magic coins that all Slytherins carried with them at all times. <em>'She is to be one of us. Treat her the way you treat your fellow housemates, and protect her from Pothead Potter. Got it?'<em> He got a chorus of _'alrights'_, _'fines'_, and _'okays'_ in return. Draco wrapped an arm around Ginny's waist and she leaned into him slightly before the lesson started. Draco caught the three staring at them for the majority of the time Snape wasn't talking. Professor Snape's lesson today was coincidentally over Animagi. "Mr. Malfoy," he started, "How does one tell if another person is an Animagi or not?" Hermione's hand was in the air instantly. Draco glanced quickly at Ginny before answering the question. She had stiffened in her seat.

"Well, Professor..."

* * *

><p><strong>Hope you enjoyed it<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Well, Professor… Animagi usually have different eye colors while in their animal forms as well as their eye color flashing between normal and abnormal colors while in human form if they are somehow upset. Also, while in their Animagus form, they might do things that only a witch or a wizard might do. Sometimes, if there is a possibility for bonding, the Animagus will form a link with someone and will be able to read thoughts similar in a way to Legilimancy and also the others emotions. This link goes both ways. But that takes time, and most of the time Animagi do not wish to be known by others and so keep to themselves while in Animagus form."

"And how many Animagi are known of, Mr. Malfoy?"

"In this century, sir?"

"Yes, Mr. Malfoy," Snape drawled.

"Seven are known registered Animagi. But I'm sure that there are more who aren't registered. In fact I learned that an eighth Animagus just registered. The youngest ever apparently." Hermione cut in, "Sir!" Snape halted her with a wave of his hand, "Quiet, Ms. Granger or I will take 15 points from Gryffindor for not keeping your mouth shut when you aren't addressed." He looked back to the Gryffindor side of the room. "Do any of you besides Ms. Granger know why it is illegal for an Animagi to be unregistered? How about you, Mr. Finnegan? No? Maybe you should study your book and write me a three foot long essay over Animagi due next class. And no, that is not a suggestion." The way he said it left no room for debate. "Yes, Professor…" could be heard clearly in the quiet room.

Snape turned back to the Slytherin side, "Mr. Zabini, do you know the answer?" The dark skinned boy smiled and answered, "Yes, Sir. It is illegal because an unregistered Animagi could be a hazard to the public and the Ministry wishes to keep people safe, so they put a law stating that an unregistered Animagi who is caught spends an unknown amount of time in Azkaban. It is presumed that the amount of time spent there is around 20 years to life." Ginny looked over to see a few Gryffindors shudder at the thought of Azkaban and its Dementors. "Mr. Malfoy, would you like to finish up the lesson by stating the connection between Animagi and their Patronuses?"

"A person's Animagus form is the same as their Patronus, sir. It also represents their personality."

"Very good, Mr. Malfoy, and 50 points to Slytherin for being able to actually provide the answers to my questions. Class is dismissed." All of the Gryffindors scurried out of the room like rats from a sinking ship. The Slytherins and Ginny leisurely walked out of the room after saying goodbye to Professor Snape. Ginny founded Draco on one side of her and Blaise on another. "What class do you have next, Gin?" Draco asked slowly. He liked the girl, he really did, but he had to remain calm, cool, and collected.

He was so close to confirming his suspicions about her being Snow, but he didn't want to give away _his_ secret just yet.


End file.
